Submitted

Wed, May 14th 2014 12:25 pm

President Barack Obama is scheduled to give remarks
on infrastructure at the Tappan Zee Bridge. Congressman Brian Higgins released
the following statement in response:

"Today,
President Obama will visit New York's own Tappan Zee Bridge for a discussion
about America's broken infrastructure. The reality is, though, that this is
just one of 69,000 bridges in need of attention in our nation. There are 99
structurally deficient bridges in Western New York alone.

"I
commend President Obama for recognizing the critical need to invest in our
nation's infrastructure and proposing efforts to cut through red tape to get
projects under construction more swiftly. This year, the Department of
Transportation proposed to spend $302 billion over the next four years on road
and transit projects. Though this represents an increase in the funding devoted
to these projects, it is still an inadequate investment. Rhetoric in support of
infrastructure and economic development must be met with action in the administration
and in Congress.

"The
American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that $3.6 trillion is needed to
restore our nation's infrastructure to good repair by 2020, so I urge the president
and the Congress to pursue action that is bolder than to modestly increase our
currently inadequate spending.

"Nation
building right here at home can't be outsourced and could create millions of
jobs and drastically lower the unemployment rate. Let's heed the president's
call to action and take it further and make a real, tangible commitment to
restoring our infrastructure and putting Americans back to work."

The
American Society of Civil Engineers gives U.S. infrastructure a D+ grade and
predicts that an additional $3.6 trillion investment will be needed by 2020
just to bring America's infrastructure to a state of good repair.

The
World Economic Forum rates the U.S. as 24th in infrastructure quality.

In
2012, Higgins introduced H.R. 4352, the Nation Building Here at Home Act, which
calls for a five-year, $1.2 trillion investment in U.S. infrastructure as a
means to create jobs and boost the economy.